


Paranoid (Soudam)

by ySoda (yrxole)



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Dangan Ronpa 2 - Freeform, Despair Disease (Dangan Ronpa), Fluff and Angst, Jabberwock Island (Dangan Ronpa), Light Angst, M/M, Oneshot, Soda Kazuichi-Centric, Sonia Nevermind - Freeform, Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Spoilers, gundham tanaka - Freeform, kazuichi soda - Freeform, soudam - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:40:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23333254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yrxole/pseuds/ySoda
Summary: "After all, he was pretty sure that not counting Hiyoko that had shut herself in her room since day one of the new arrangement, he was the most hated person on this island"(This is my first fanfic on this site, so don't come at me)
Relationships: Soda Kazuichi & Tanaka Gundham, Soda Kazuichi/Tanaka Gundham
Comments: 39
Kudos: 389





	Paranoid (Soudam)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, so, A/N: 
> 
> -I'm new to the dangan ronpa fandom, and so far have only played the game, so sorry if something is wrong with the story.  
> -This is also the first fiction I've written in a long while.   
> -Since I only have the game as reference, I write Kazuichi's name as Soda and not as Souda, hopefully in that way I'm not confusing people.  
> -Also, doing Gundham's speech is a real challenge, and I wrote this in the evening so there can possibly be some mistakes there. I am impressed at the works that do this dude correctly. 
> 
> Anyway, constructive critisism is welcome, but please don't be too harsh on me :)

Perhaps it were the uncountable amounts of sugar coated sweets the pink haired male had ingested before finally letting his body rest on top of the far less comfortable mattress of the motel than the one he was used to back in his cottage on the other island, or perhaps it was the knowledge of Miss Sonia sleeping down the hall in a room of her own (he had tried to find out which room, but sadly enough circumstances had him unable to identify which lady had chosen what room), or he could even blame it on the ‘emergency exit’ sign by the door that apparently also functioned as a nightlight, but Kazuichi could not fall asleep. And whilst he would’ve loved to blame it on those simple, pointless matters, he couldn’t. Not when he knew that on certain blue Mondays he could’ve taken in about twice as much of the energy drinks he’d last-minute bought from the vending machine near the entrance of the motel, with no trouble falling asleep afterwards. Not when he knew that the cottages of the students had always been close to each other, the only difference between sleeping in a motel was that the building connected, but he wasn’t any more near Sonia than any other day on the first island. Not when he knew that secretly, he kind of liked having a nightlight, although if anyone ever happened to ask him about such, he would deny the fact with all his might. No, the only thing he could blame his tired yet sleepless state on, was his own mind. 

Soda of course knew that thinking wasn’t really his strong suit, but he had not expected it to become this unbearable. 

Of course he allowed himself to be a little paranoid, I mean, who wouldn’t be in his situation? After all, they hadn’t arrived to the island that long ago, and they were all still trying to figure things out. But while most seemed to be somewhat accepting their forced fate, all the questions that the sharp-toothed mechanical had about the events that happened were still running through his head daily. He hadn’t let go of questioning how from a classroom, they suddenly ended up on an island in the middle of nowhere out of all things, and how a stuffed animal had told them to become acquainted with one another before another stuffed bear that went by the name of Monokuma told them to kill each other. Sure, Soda had thought about murder before, but always as the cautious deer, not as the actual predator that had to commit such an act. And even when he thought it all to be some big, twisted joke at the start, after coming to face their once so very determined, but then so very  _ dead _ leader Byakuya, the realisation finally sank in. The bear was for real, and while that was true for his normal life as well, it struck him harder to know that every second on this island could be the last, and every word spilling from his lips could be his ‘famous last words’. Every decision could bring him to death, every question and every comment could snap something in another. It was an irrational way of thinking, since the other fifteen students (although now he should be getting used to saying twelve students) were high schoolers, just like him, and they wouldn’t just participate in the killing game for something as small as an uncalled for comment, but the one moment were being dumb and oblivious could actually work to his advantage his brain couldn’t stop keeping him awake. 

After all, he was pretty sure that not counting Hiyoko that had shut herself in her room since day one of the new arrangement, he was the most hated person on this island. His unsuccessful attempts at winning Miss Sonia’s heart had him seem more like a pervert than Teruteru had to the others, and it wasn’t like his shots at investigating previous murder cases had ever accomplished anything. He was usually the first one to act on selfish impulses, and his over-the-top emotions could be hard to keep up with at times. Now the other students that were in this situation with him seemed to have enough self-control to keep from strangling him before, but at the moment they were dealing with a bigger issue; the despair disease. Apparently, the islands had been infected with it, and according to Monokuma the thing that was causing disease was unstoppable and also invisible, so that the despair disease could strike at any moment. The group of Ultimates were already cautious of course, staying away from the already infected but keeping up with them using a device that Kazuichi had invented to be able to communicate. But would it be enough? After all, there was a chance that one of the others in the hotel had already caught the disease, and was now completely out of character plotting to kill someone. 

_ Or maybe,  _ He thought,  _ Maybe you already have the despair disease. Maybe you’ve already killed someone, and you’re just completely unaware. Maybe someone has already killed you, but because of the disease you have not noticed one bit _ . Paranoid he most certainly was, to the point his head hurted and he gripped onto the sheets of his bed, hoping that in some way it would cause relief when all it did was tense his body more. ‘That’s stupid’, Soda muttered to himself, rolling over to his side and now facing the excuse of a window in his room. He hadn’t closed the curtains to be sure he’d be awaken by sunlight before the morning announcement, but now he was doubting if that had been a good idea, seeing as now his tired eyes could make up all kinds of crap outside of the building. Turning his back to the window was not an option either though, for obvious reasons. 

  
Kazuichi sat up in his bed, taking a deep breath. If he wanted to calm his nerves, he was going to need something that contained sugar. His closest option was to try with the vending machine in the hall of the motel, so that was of course what he decided on. Quickly he hoisted himself back into his gaudy jumpsuit and pulled a beanie over his ears even if it was just for the sake of comfort if anyone where to see him outside of his room. 

With an only logical wariness he stepped outside of the dorm, eyes quickly glancing around him to check his surroundings, before proceeding. The vending machine stoot out with it’s bright colours, and for that he was glad. ‘Okay baby, let’s see what’cha got’, Kazuichi spoke quietly to himself, inserting one of the strange  _ Monocoins  _ he’d found around the island into the machine, only for it to do… nothing in response. Just then was when he noticed the cheap piece of paper stuck to it that read ‘out of order’. He could smack himself in the head right now. Though he quickly came up with a second idea. His eyes roamed around the area again, before, with a little force, he pushed his hands against the machine. Nothing. He groaned quietly, now striking the vending machine a bit harder with his hands, but it wouldn’t even budge. And as much as that hurt his ego for a moment, he still went in full force as a next step, with hip, shoulder and all bumping into the stupid sweets-container. All it did was leave him with a bruised hip and a bruised self-esteem.

It also made quite the noise, and Soda was suddenly very aware of how open the place was, how dark, and just how easy to hide in the shadows. Again the thoughts ran through his head; he shouldn’t be out this late on his own. It was still not unthinkable that one of the the former healthy Ultimates that were staying at the motel had caught the despair disease by now, and if there was going to be a next victim, he deemed himself a very possible candidate.

Shaking his head as if to physically rid himself of those ideas, his eyes suddenly met something in the hall on his left. Something was glistening in there, it almost seemed like the glimmer of eyes which were only dully lit by the soft moonlight coming from outside of the building. His breathing stopped for a moment. Not only that, he could hear footsteps, even if the sound was very distinct and possibly in his head. He was frozen in his spot, one of his hands still on the machine next to him, and he noticed the position he himself was in; from the vending machine  _ was _ coming a light. It was probably because he wasn’t the only one in the world that liked getting a midnight snack, but at the moment in his head it only served as a target marker. 

_ It’s not real _ , he told himself, shutting his eyes tightly for a second and ignoring how dry his throat had become. The skin of his head was itching underneath his hair and his beanie, but he didn’t dare move. Once he looked back to the hallway to determine whether or not he’d gone crazy, he saw the dark figure had gotten closer, and if he wasn’t mistaken, it weren’t the eyes that were shining before; something like a metal object was somewhat visible. On instinct, Kazuichi made a run for it. 

Going in the opposite direction of the figure, he bashed out of the door with a yelp, ending up outside of the building all together, but there was no stopping now. He couldn’t turn back to lock himself in his room now, since whoever was out there could be standing right in front of his door, waiting for him to return to finish their job. He was all out in the open, where both the disease and any other student could be at the moment, and all he could make out of his thoughts were that they were basically screaming  _ big mistake  _ and  _ I’m gonna die _ at him. He couldn’t go back inside, where possible death awaited him, and he couldn’t stay here either, light from conveniently placed lanterns illuminating only a bit of his surroundings but mostly himself, exposing him to any other possible threat nearby. If he wasn’t shaking before, he really was now. 

‘The supermarket’, he suddenly said to himself, remembering the market that was on the first island. Considering he had no other options, that one was not too bad. It was late, everyone was supposed to be tired anyway, and if someone was really out to kill they wouldn’t be doing it on the now abandoned first island, so he could safely assume that there wouldn’t be any problems there. That and the fact that he was almost sure he was going to start crying from how shaken up he was with the current events and whole situation if he didn’t ingest something sweet any time soon, was enough to make him move forward to the bridge that connected this island with the one he’d set as his destination. 

Even though he could faintly remember being hot all the time in the sun on this island, it was chilly out and even his overalls weren’t doing much to keep him warm. He shivered. The dark was giving him the creeps; he could hardly make out anything on the bridge, and he was glad that it was one straight path so he wouldn’t fall into the ocean. Even so, he still saw camera’s around, and it freaked him out even more to know that Monokuma was probably watching him at the moment, knowing whether or not there was something out right this moment to murder him. Soda turned his head just for a moment to check up behind him, but as he did, he saw the door to the motel being opened. The person who he’d ran away from seconds ago had gotten tired of waiting. They were coming out. And the Ultimate Mechanic was completely convinced they’d come out to follow him. For the second time that night, he forced his feet to run and he forced his mouth to stay shut, not wanting to make his presence known to said person who he couldn’t quite focus on as he was running, even if he kept throwing glances back over his shoulder. The bridge wasn’t that noisy, and he mentally praised and thanked the constructors for that. 

That was, until at the end of the bridge, he ran into someone, harshly, knocking them both over onto the ground in the process. 

His and this unknown person’s legs were tangled as Kazuichi’s hands desperately tried to find any ground to steady him and help him get up, his heart beating loudly in his chest from the shock, and the person below him was complaining to Hell and back in a low voice, but he couldn’t quite make out what the person was saying. He was pretty sure he only made the situation worse when instead of the ground, his hand had pressed down onto said person’s arm (using all his weight as well, ouch). He felt a sharp pinch in his finger there, and he yelped, finally managing to push himself up with slight help from the figure underneath him who’d basically pushed him back finally using their strength. As soon as he could find the willpower to, the mechanic shot up from the ground and stepped back, giving the other space to get up as well. The guy on the ground seemed a little dazed by what had just so suddenly happened, and he turned around with a quiet groan. Kazuichi was able to make out his face now, and whilst his heart had been beating 90 miles an hour before, now he felt like it went ice cold in his chest; the guy he’d just knocked over was Gundham Tanaka, someone who he’d already managed to piss off in the past, and whom he definitely didn’t need to piss off any further. 

‘S-sorry dude, I-’, Kazuichi helplessly started as the Ultimate Breeder got back on his two feet, standing steadily and also being a steady head or two (that was over exaggerated, but at the moment it sure seemed so) taller than the pink haired individual who was shaking in his gaudy shoes. ‘You- You foolish mortal!’, Gundham grumbled, fixing the purple scarf that he always wore, no exception that night. ‘So, you appear to desire unleashing Hell upon yourself, for I, The Great Gundham Tanaka, the cursed spawn of an Angel and Demon and embodiment of Darkness, carry the spikes of the Manticore and the poison of a Serpent! You may deem yourself very lucky, fiend, for the Overlord may not act in your favour any future endeavours of yours to torment the mortal body I have to wander the earth with’, Gundham continued his speech as Soda stared at him, dumbfounded. ‘... Uh, sorry, didn’t catch all that’, he muttered, trying to keep down any irritation that tried to spill in his voice, since whatever Tanaka had tried to say just now didn’t seem exactly positive. 

The taller male let out an impatient huff, his head turning to the side, almost arrogantly so. However, only seconds later his jaw unclenched and his non-existent eyebrows relaxed, the tension of the sudden attack from the pink haired male leaving both his body and mind, as he turned back to Soda. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t still look down on him while talking though. As the taller male took a step closer, he immediately noticed how Kazuichi cowered away ever so slightly. That was enough for him to know that what had just happened wasn’t planned by the other beforehand. 

As soon as Tanaka continued walking, Soda found his own feet moving as well, following the Breeder as if they’d been instructed to by said person. ‘So’, Gundham again spoke as they continued on their now shared path, ‘what is your reasoning for rather than retreating to your temporary realm of sleep, finding yourself one with the dark?’. Luckily now that Gundham had slightly calmed down, his sentences (that would obviously always stay weirdly structured) weren’t crammed with words Kazuichi believed one would only find back in demonic writings, and he was actually able to decipher what that was supposed to mean. ‘I could ask you the same thing’, was his stubborn answer, a mismatched eye roll visible from the other. 

Kazuichi wasn’t keen on the idea of having to share the experience he’d just had to live through with someone who he believed was quite able to do the exact same thing; follow and kill him. Even if he did have cute hamsters that even with the weak lighting from the moon, had big and curious eyes Soda couldn’t stay stubborn towards, even if one of those little demons was the reason his hand was bleeding a little bit. The silence from Tanaka was maybe more intimidating than when he actually tried to seem intimidating with his nerd poses and stupid rambling, so the mechanic continued the conversation while trying not to trip over his loose shoelace. In comparison to Gundham, who was always neatly bandaged up and accessorized, he must’ve seemed one big mess, and for some reason that thought was kind of comforting. Even now, at his all time low, he might’ve seemed the same just as any other day, while Tanaka next to him had a lot more dignity to lose once his day of madness came. Although madness seemed to be a fitting description of the other at the moment, and he seemed to be doing just fine. ‘Vending machine is broken’, Kazuichi finally admitted, ‘Now you’. 

It wasn’t like the  _ Dark Overlord of Ice  _ or whatever the fuck the dork called himself seemed that interested in knowing or speaking for that matter, but it wasn’t like the mechanic really cared if Gundham found their conversation amusing; all he wanted to accomplish was taking his mind off potential death. ‘We seem to have a similar issue’, Tanaka muttered calmly, seemingly realising that speaking as loud as he usually did was not necessary. 

‘Wait, you eat like, snacks ‘n stuff?’, Kazuichi asked, genuinely surprised. The annoyed tense of Gundham’s body returned, and he moved his longer legs even faster; the pace did not seem to bother him, but it did bother the relatively smaller Soda, who had already been struggling to keep up with him before since his own pace of walking was a more lazy one. ‘Jeez, it’s not like I’m going to judge you for being a midnight snacker like basically everyone else on this planet, calm down’, Kazuichi grumbled, a bit fed up with this high-mighty behaviour he should’ve been used to by now from the person he could hardly call a friend. Gundham chuckled lowly, and now Soda took the time to actually see what was happening; he’d read the body language wrong. Actually, thinking back to it, he’d started walking a bit closer to the male when the path became slimmer, and since Gundham was always a bit freaky about being touched he probably just panicked a bit. And since Tanaka did seem like he may be a bit smarter than he looked, he probably realised the fact that Kazuichi misread the situation. Without Soda’s knowledge however, this also resulted in a suspicion for why animals, even his well trained Four Dark Devas of Destruction, seemed to dislike the pink haired male greatly. 

While the dark, gloomy night still felt like it was ripping through Soda’s skin, he was somewhat more at ease now that he wasn’t walking alone here. He did feel more safe walking with Gundham, even if he disliked him, since the guy didn’t appear to have any murderous intentions (so far); and he had to give it to him: the dude had a remarkable amount of muscle for someone who was supposed to be taking care of cute animals. If someone were to attack them, he would rather be with Gundham than with a bony and almost stick figured teen like the Nagito weirdo. The strange vibe that the edgelord next to him usually gave him seemed to wear off at least a little, and he felt less uncomfortable. 

To his surprise, Tanaka was the one that continued to speak, in his own way basically asking that if Kazuichi was the Ultimate Mechanic, why he didn’t just make the vending machine then. An uneasy feeling crept over the sharp toothed boy, just thinking about the figure that creeped up on him, and Gundham recognized the immediate change in his posture almost as easily as by any animal he was meant to tame. The distressed and alarmed look in their eyes matching Soda’s right now, and perhaps it was because of his shark-like teeth, but Gundham found this mortal reminded him somewhat of one of his beasts. ‘I hadn’t thought of that’, Kazuichi explained his behaviour, even if anyone who had a pair of eyes would be able to see that was a lie. 

The distressed feeling is gone almost as swiftly as it came when the boys entered the supermarket, and Kazuichi was distracted by the bright labels and great variation of products that were stacked together or in aisles. His eyes roamed the store and he felt himself getting excited over all the different types of sugary drinks he could see from where he was standing, heading over to the right aisle with the same glee a small child would show on christmas morning, the presence of Gundham no longer a concern. 

Even though he hated this island with all of his being and the day they could go home couldn’t arrive soon enough, he had to say that the amount of things presented to them on here was amazing. And he didn’t have to pay for it either, since he was pretty sure laws and things like that wouldn’t really matter there, judging by the fact that some random stuffed bear was making the students kill each other anyway, so what was the point in also giving them a fine on shoplifting afterwards. 

He moved swiftly between aisles, taking the bright colours in, and pretending for a moment he was in the small store section of the parking lot back at home as his hands moved over various products, taking some with him on the way. He stopped in his tracks when he was met with Gundham, and he couldn't help but to snort at the sight. This however, allerted the male, who swiftly straightened his posture and failed to properly hide a small bag behind his back; Kazuichi had already identified the package. ‘Wow, the Great Gundham Tanaka, the Overlord of Ice and Darkness… likes goldfish?’, Soda teased him, resulting in said person hiding his face that was by now red from embarrassment in his scarf, all while incoherently rambling about goldfish from Heaven and Hell colliding or some bullshit like that. The mechanic laughed softly and shook his head, not sure why he was even surprised. Luckily for the Breeder, some flashy label caught Kazuichi’s eye, and he stopped his pestering to see what that was all about. There was a neat pile of stacked soda cans to his left, and he made a point to avoid them so he wouldn’t make a mess of the floor. But then, he swore he could see something moving again, and it couldn’t be Tanaka that he abandoned behind him by the snack aisle. His heart rate picked up again, and he dropped the stuff he was holding in his arms, and he took a step back in fear instinctively. That was a big mistake. He stepped right into the stacked cans, and like the disaster he was, he tripped into the pile with a high-pitched scream that reminded him of his mother. Not only did it make a lot of noise, but it also made a mess, and he was basically stuck right into it.  _ Death by sodas _ , ran a for the moment irrational thought through his head,  _ that’s kind of iconic _ . 

He was pretty sure he was going to die now as he heard footsteps approach him, but at the same time he realised that this wasn’t his murderer; Tanaka called out his first name as he rushed over after hearing the miserable yelp of Soda. A pair of hands pulled him up out of the pile of drink cans,  _ so much for poisonous skin,  _ and Kazuichi grabbed onto the arms that were attached to them as if it were his lifeline. Great, the guy even seemed worried, and Kazuichi’s face heated up from embarrassment. ‘Kazuichi, if something is bothering you, do tell’, Gundham spoke, not a trace of annoyance or mocking present in his voice. He had endured this suspicious behaviour long enough to know something wasn’t quite right. 

Soda gulped quietly, his gaze still not moving from Gundham. The room was silent, awfully silent, and it had been no warmer inside of the building than outside in the cold night. Gundham’s grip on his arms had not loosened, almost as if he was trying to get a point across, one that Kazuichi couldn’t bother to interpret any way. And somehow, the mismatched eyes on him as if he were a startled animal that could flee any second if he weren’t approached sternly yet with caution, had a comfortable sensation run through his body. However, the question still stood, and he wasn’t feeling like showing how badly his paranoia had really gotten to the other. He cleared his throat softly and stepped back a bit, changing the subject with a ‘you’re awfully nice for being, as you claim, a creature from Hell’. Luckily it threw Gundham off. He laughed darkly, back into his usual self. ‘To be precise, I am the cursed body forced upon this mortal world as a result from the meeting of a Demon and an Angel, and I, Overlord of Ice, do not require the warmth that  _ kindness  _ brings weak mortals such as yourself, for I am only in this mortal body to walk this cursed path temporarily!’. And changing the subject had been Soda’s plan all along, so he didn’t mind when again the guy wasn’t making any sense. 

The things he’d wanted to take with him were still on the ground and Soda picked them up, knowing Gundham probably stored his own snacks in his coat, not wanting to have to come up with more explanations when Soda mocked him for liking ordinary things. 

Nearing the exit, Gundham stopped walking when a certain packaging peaked his interest, picking it up. Kazuichi saw this as well, but this time didn’t mock him about anything; instead, he found himself warning the male. ‘Oh, I don’t think you’d want that, there’s a lot of non vegan gelatin in there’, he stated almost impulsively, and Gundham eyed him with a look of interest. Kazuichi casted his eyes to the floor, again a certain redness to his cheeks. ‘I read about it somewhere a couple of years ago and looked up how it was made. That was the grosest shit I’ve ever seen, and I used to quite like those candies as well’, he explained why he possessed such information. ‘That was quite considerate, and I am thankful, Kazuichi’, Gundham said, not bothering to read the back of the pack to check if Soda’s information was really correct, and for some reason that made the male swell with pride. ‘Oh, y’know. No problem’, he responded, accompanying Tanaka to the exit of the shop. 

The boys kept conversing their way back to the hotel, but it was less forced than during their journey to the supermarket. Neither of them were actually mean either, something the others around them had to get used to before; the strange rivalry going on between the two unexplainable to them. Later, Kazuichi would pin it on being rivals in the lovegame with Miss Sonia, but he really only had the fact that he kind of was a little shit to blame. Right now all mocking insults from Kazuichi were jokingly, and Gundham didn’t really mind, keeping his persona on as always. Tanaka had even declared them allies at some point, even if it was a slip of the tongue, and Kazuichi was nowhere near annoyed like he should’ve been with the sentence structures of the other. Apparently showing that Kazuichi wasn’t actually just a selfish asshole had done a lot for them, and he decided that maybe he should show that side of himself more often if it meant people would hate him less. 

The light of the motel was a little blinding when they’d gotten used to the darkness, even though the light in the market had had the same effect. They entered the building. Once they were standing in front of Kazuichi’s motel room, Gundham could sense Kazuichi was hesitating to ask something. That guy really had to do something about his obvious body language if he really wanted to seem indifferent. 

Thing was, it just sank in that Soda was going to have to stay in his room alone again, and after all the suspicious events that evening, he really wasn’t looking forward to it. He’d felt much safer being accompanied by Gundham, and a part of him really wanted to ask the other if he couldn’t just stay for a bit longer, he wanted to ask not to part ways right now, but that would be a strange thing to ask of him. For some reason though, luck was on his side. ‘Oh, that is rather inconvenient’, Tanaka mumbled as on cue, hands on his coat pockets. ‘I do not seem to have taken the key to my realm with me on my journey. Perhaps, if it’s not of trouble, would you mind my company for tonight, so I am able to come to a solution at dawn?’, and so it was settled. If he had to be, Gundham Tanaka was a far better liar than Kazuichi ever was, after all. 

The couch in the room was prepared for the male who thanked Kazuichi in return. 

Later that night, nearing dawn already, Kazuichi was awaken by a creaking sound. In a sleepy state he sat up, rubbing his eyes even though he knew this would only result into them itching more. He was lucky he hadn’t forgotten to take out his contacts that night, for if he would have his eyes would’ve felt a lot dryer and more painful than they did at the moment. He reacher over Gundham, who later in the night apparently had decided that personal space was not that big an issue, taking his glasses that he’d rather not wear in front of people off his nightstand and putting them on. He was planning on just getting out of bed, going to the bathroom quickly, and returning to sleep; he’d bug Gundham about being weird in the morning, right now it was not his problem. Quite the contrary; for such a pale guy, he definitely was warm. 

However, as soon as Kazuichi’s feet hit the cold ground, and he actually stopped being distracted by this sleepy haze that had gotten over him, he shrieked at the sight of someone standing in his room in the dark. 

His curtains weren’t shut. The moon still casted some of its light into the room, enough to reflect off indeed a metal object that the person was holding; he now noticed it to be a knife. For a moment there the figure came into view, and Kazuichi was sure his eyes were deceiving him; because what he saw, or what he thought he saw, was simply not possible. Besides, their face was behind a mask, so there’s no way he could’ve been right about this.   
  
He didn’t have long to think this over, as the person charged towards him. Instinctively, Kazuichi shielded himself with his hands, another yelp escaping his lips when a blade swiftly pierced the skin. He was sure there was going to be a second charge, and this time he wouldn’t be as lucky, but then he heard a soft ‘Ow!’, from his attacker. 

Gundham was sitting up next to him, and although Kazuichi knew also he missed one eye contact and therefore wouldn’t be able to see as clearly as he would during the day, he showed no sign of restrainment. His Dark Devas had already followed command, and were chasing towards the figure in the room, jumping at them. The fabric of the mask the person was wearing was no problem for the hamsters, and they clawed away happily while the attacker backed away from the room with tiny yelps as the claws of the little animals definitely went right through the fabric of their probably improvised mask, pushing the hamsters off with all their might. Kazuichi was still in shock, and so had Gundham been, but he was the first to be able to get over himself and get up. 

He followed after the attacker, but when he reached the door he realised it was of no use; the person had already fled, and since they hadn’t identified them, Tanaka couldn’t know where they went to. He called back his Devas that were scurrying through the hall, a little disoriented from their fall when the person they’d clawed at shook them off. Right after, he closed and locked the door, somewhat out of breath from the panicked state he was in ever since he woke up seeing the murderous fiend in the room, and he used the now door to lean for a moment. ‘Fool! Don’t you know how to seal your realm to those with murderous intent!’, Tanaka groaned, closing his eyes, it had been quite enough for his mind to handle this, definitely this early in the morning. The lack of response made him turn his head in concern, and only then he noticed the state Soda was in. 

The guy was completely terrified. 

Gundham had no time to feel remorse for his words, as when he turned on the light in the room with the lightswitch, he noticed the blood dripping from Kazuichi’s palm. The boy was shaking, and looking at the door, but not at Gundham himself. He rushed to Kazuichi’s side. ‘Kazuichi, you are safe now’, he said in the most reassuring voice he could muster, as he took his face to make the other look at him. ‘I’m sorry’, Kazuichi mumbled; how was he so stupid to forget to lock the door? Honestly, even if he wasn’t in a paranoid state, he should’ve at least realised that he wanted no intruders, no matter what their intentions might have been. But he could’ve been killed if it wasn’t for Gundham. ‘No, no, now is not the time to feel remorse for past foolish behaviour’, Tanaka told him sternly, retrieving a package of fresh band aid from his coat pocket. He’d been meaning to get some new of that since he wanted fresh bandages around the battle scars that came along when taming the Hellish beasts. 

‘Tell me if the restriction is painful’, Gundham muttered, and even Kazuichi wasn’t sure if he may have mistaken a word for another there, since Tanaka did seem to pale a bit as he looked at the blood coming from Soda’s hand. He, however, wrapped the bandage around it just fine enough for the mechanic to be comfortable. ‘Too tight-’, Kazuichi winced at a small part, but he understood; it was a little hard for Gundham to focus when Kazuichi was still shaking, and it was hard for himself to focus after this event. He knew something had been off with the Ultimate Mechanic, but he never thought it would’ve been as significant as this; to be honest, he thought the pink haired guy was quite the coward, and that whatever had been going on had to do with the boy’s endless paranoia. ‘My apologies’, Gundham murmured, loosening the bandage. 

As he finished the job, Tanaka took a seat next to the other student on his bed. For a moment Kazuichi was afraid to get a lecture from the other; after all, on multiple occasions that night he could have let Gundham know about the feeling of being followed, the suspicions he had, but he’d decided against it endangering not only himself but also the breeder. However, such lecture never came. They locked eyes, no contacts for either of the two, and it was as if Tanaka knew what he meant just by this alone. He only gave a small sigh and looked away, in thought for a moment, before offering a small smile to the mechanic; Kazuichi felt as if he could kiss him for being so understanding when he was one hundred percent sure anyone else in his shoes would’ve not let this slide as easily. Instead, he decided on a hug, muttering a ‘thanks’, into Gundham’s shirt while the other looked startled, probably stopping himself from saying something about his poisonous skin. Somewhat awkward he placed his hand on Soda’s back, but it was good enough. 

Kazuichi didn’t start about the next morning when he woke up in the arms of someone just a day before he would’ve called a rival. And if he was in any other mood he would definitely have, but he didn’t say anything about Tanaka’s sudden break of his cold character (even if his speech stayed just the same; that part might’ve just been Gundham himself). When he feels Gundham touch his cheek, he doesn’t comment on it. He wasn’t aware that he was crying; he wasn’t sure why his eyes did so at the moment either, and even when the touch of the breeder brought this fact to light, it felt unreal. 

He didn’t say anything about it when far after the morning announcement had made both males groan in annoyance, a cup of coffee that must have been far too sweet for Gundham’s liking was pushed into his hands, taking small sips although the burning sensation felt somewhat nice after the numbness of everything else. As if he was trying to be polite, with a somewhat grossed out face the other Ultimate kept drinking his own coffee as well. 

He didn’t say anything about it when he saw Gundham retrieve from his coat pocket the key he’d claimed he’d lost the evening before, confirming Kazuichi’s suspicions that from the inside he really was a nice guy. Tanaka stopped by his own room before they’d all go to have breakfast in a new place everyone had agreed on together. Kazuichi was left in his room, laying in bed as he calmly petted the fur of one of Gundham’s hamsters that decided to stay behind for the mechanic; if it were the one that the day before had bit him, he wouldn’t know. 

He didn’t start about it either when during breakfast, no makeup could hide what Kazuichi subconsciously already knew. Of course it was enough to fool the others, but while everyone saw a warm smile and a sweet good morning, all Soda could focus on were the camouflaged red claw marks scattered over Miss Sonia’s face, and her arms. 

And if Gundham had known, he didn’t say anything either. But perhaps neither of them  _ wanted  _ to know. 


End file.
